And They're Off!
by jaspertaylor
Summary: Modern World AU. Lucy Heartfilia is a stable hand at one of the most prestigious race tracks in the world. All she wants is to become a famous jockey who rides the best horses. She meets Natsu Dragneel, the owner of the great and temperamental Salamander. Their personalities clash as these two go head to head over the fiery horse. But is this Lucy's chance? M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

He was screaming, the new arrival, that was. His screams and cries echoed across all the buildings and disturbed every living creature within hearing range. All perceived it as a scream of rage, of defiance. All but one single girl. She heard it for what it truly was: a cry for help. They were screams of a scared creature overwhelmed by his surroundings. As more people came to hold him down with rope, the louder he cried and the harder he fought against the people who were trying to keep him from rearing up. He was terrified, scared, and angry. He didn't like the way his purpose in life was to run for someone truly he loved, but rarely got to see anymore. It was a hard life he had, traveling and moving from place to place, being handled by strangers who either didn't know what they were doing or knew what they were doing but treated him as if he were dumb. He hated it, which is why he ran so hard. He was lonely, and only thought that if he ran hard enough, the one he loved would come to see him. Occasionally his loved one did visit, and he always felt encouraged and loved afterwards. He just wanted to be loved my any other creature is all.

The girl, she understood completely, for she was in the same situation as the stallion was. She had talent, and a gift besides. She could do what others most certainly couldn't. She just wanted an opportunity to prove herself, to show that she could be one of the greatest ever seen. But she worked in Six, the building that had the best pay and worst working conditions. The conditions were bad because not only did the craziest horses stay there more often than not, but she had to deal with rookie owners that had absolutely no idea what they were talking about and elite rich snobs that knew exactly what they were talking about but treated her as if it were her first day on the job every single time. More than half the time she didn't even listen to what orders she was given anyway. She took care of her charges however she wanted to based upon what they needed. Owners would come to yell and scream at her for not doing what they said, and she would just stand there and listen patiently until they asked why she didn't listen. Always she would wait for them to ask. When they did, she would look at the owner, look at her charge, look back at the owner and ask, "Does he or she not look happier and healthier than you've seen in a while?" Every single time the owners would stop talking and look at her charge. Her wilder charges would be more docile and even-tempered, and her calm charges would have an extra skip in their step. Most owners would storm off and grumble about people in her profession not taking orders, but they would stop complaining. Some would apologize and ask her to continue to do what she was doing. It was few who apologized and actually asked her what she was doing that they could do as well.

But all she really wanted – no, needed – was for someone to give her the opportunity to run with the others. The adrenaline rush that came from running with the others, the race itself, the feeling of flying over the track, she absolutely craved it. One day she knows she'll get the chance, it was the sole reason she worked in Six. The elite rich snobs had an eye for talent they want, and the rookie owners were always in desperate need of someone who was willing to take the risk and accept the challenge with them.

The girl watching the horse struggling against his ties, Lucy Ashley Heartfilia, aspired to be a jockey. She aspired to be one of he greatest jockeys that rode the greatest horses. She knew in every single part of her being it was what she was meant to do, what she was born to do. The only problem was she couldn't find to horse she was meant to ride. Sure she exercised the horses she took care of, and all of them ran smoothly and perfectly for her, always obeying her. Because of this she has had several offers from the poorest rookies to the richest elites to become their jockey. She politely declined every offer, explaining that she wasn't the one to race to horse. Some owners were incredulous and offered more money, but she declined again saying it wasn't about the money with her. She always found jockeys for those who offered her a job. A few weeks after, she would get letters of gratitude from both owner and jockey, who always went on to so pretty well for themselves. Many letters asked how she knew to pair up horse and rider. She replied that she just had a knack for it and that she knew how to use that knack very well.

Well, she nicknamed it her knack. In actuality, she was someone who had fey blood in her body from her great-great-grandmother who came from Ireland so many years ago. Every direct descendant female since has had strong fey gifts and Lucy's gift was why she understood the fighting stallion that was a couple hundred yards below her. Her gift was known only to a few of her close friends.

Lucy's attention was brought abruptly back to the blood bay stallion who screamed a scream of anger, a warning that he was going to attack. Her eyes frantically searched for the cause of the stallion's change in behavior. She saw it in the hands of the new stable hand, Bora. He was holding a tranquilizer gun and was talking to the men holding the stallion down. Lucy hated the way Bora used aggressive versus passive treatment to the horses in his care. But right now, the last thing the blood bay needed was more aggression. Lucy ran from her spot on the drive down to stable Six, hoping to get down there to stop Bora before he shot the stallion. Lucy swore as she looked down and saw the gun leveled at the tied down horse. She was about to scream "no" when Bora pulled the trigger. The stallion threw his entire body back, snapping the lead and tossing the grips the men had on the ropes holding him down. The dart flew past him and hit a groom, causing the groom to go down. The stallion broke out of the circle of men surrounding him and thundered up the long drive from Six. _'Damn but he could run' _Lucy thought. She stopped running, stood in the middle of the drive, and threw her arms out to her sides. The stallion brayed at the new obstacle in his path and began to slow down fraction by fraction. Lucy just stayed calm and still. She stared down the horse with her big, brown, doe eyes. Her mother had once told her that her eyes were where her fey gift was the most useful. Lucy unconsciously used her eyes to persuade others to do what she wanted most of the time. However, when Lucy intentionally used her eyes for persuasion, time seemed to slow down and all her senses focused on the person or creature she was persuading. Once she caught the stallion's eye, she knew he would understand that he would either have to stop or plow her down.

As the horse barreled towards Lucy, Lucy didn't feel scared at all. On the contrary, she felt calm and collected, a sign she was using her persuasion correctly. Her focus was entirely on the beast running towards her, another good sign. All unnecessary sounds and sights drifted away from her. The general murmur of the crowds at the track, gone. The general sounds of the track, gone. The whinnies and neighs of the other horses, gone. The cries of the groom and stable hands yelling for her to move, gone. Time seemed to slow down, the final sign she was using her persuasion. The only things she heard were the slow, thunderous echoes of the stallion's hooves and the heaving of his tremendous chest as he continued on to her. The sight of the drive beneath her feet and the bushes along side it, gone. The sight of the roof of Six right beside her, gone. The sight of the blue sky above her, gone. The sight of the grooms and Bora and his stupid gun, gone. The only things she saw were the muscles that bunched and flexed beneath his beautiful bay coat that shined like fire in the sun and the wild look in his eyes. She tasted the confidence of the stallion, confidence that she would move out of his way. She smelled the sheen of sweat on the stallion's body that came from his exertions from a few moments before. She felt the vibrations on her feet from the impact of the stallion slamming his hooves into the drive.

She made eye contact with the stallion and saw all the anger, loneliness, and hurt held there. She felt sympathy for the horse, something she knew the horse rarely had felt for him. She knew the stallion was going to hit her. She'd accepted it. She knew she couldn't move away in time, and besides, she'd had worse injuries. Based upon the speed of the stallion and her own experiences, she knew the worst she could get were a few bruised ribs or a bruised bum or leg. Lucy put her arms down so the stallion could brush her to the side and closed her eyes.

She braced for impact.

* * *

**Author's Note. I decided to write a story on Fairy Tail and what life would be like at the race track! This is my first fanfiction so I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are welcome! **


	2. The Loft

The impact never came. Instead, all Lucy felt was a gust of wind that blew her hair back. Slowly, all of Lucy's senses began to come back to her. She felt the breeze of the wind against her face. She could taste the minty flavor of the chewing gum in her mouth. All the sounds that had drifted away came back to her, except for the shouting of the grooms and hands. She could also still smell sweat coming from a horse, so she slowly opened her eyes. The blackened muzzle of the stallion greeted her sight, the nostrils expanding and contracting with every breath. Lucy shifted her eyes to see all the grooms and hands standing and staring dumbstruck at her. She was used to it, but Lucy was feeling confused and a little panicky. Her gift never wavered in telling her that the stallion wasn't going to stop, and her gift had never been wrong before. So why had the horse stopped?

A soft snicker brought Lucy's attention back to the stallion standing patiently in front of her. _'Stupid girl, you know to never take your attention off a horse, especially not one that was going to run you over two seconds ago. That's how you get hurt. Geez, and how long have you been working in Six? Apparently not enough.' _Lucy mentally rolled her eyes at herself and tentatively placed a hand on his face to steady the stallion. She looked the stallion over for any injuries, and as her eyes roamed, all she could see was a perfectly fine, uninjured, fine piece of horseflesh. Grateful, Lucy looked back at the face of the horse in front of her. A metal nametag was stitched to the halter. Curious, Lucy leaned closer and read the name inscribed there. 'Salamander,' Lucy read. She gasped, having heard of the young colt. Salamander was only two years old, but had performed better than three- and four-year old veteran colts when he made his debut to the racing circuit. It was already clear in the short time Salamander had been racing that he was going to make a huge name for himself in the racing world.

Lucy stared at the colt as he turned a regarding eye on her, performing his own inspection of the girl he stopped for, curiosity alight in his eyes. Lucy then realized that her gift hadn't been wrong. Salamander himself didn't even think about stopping until the absolute last second, after Lucy had braced herself. He really _was _going to hit her. Why he changed his mind so abruptly, she didn't know, but her realization soothed Lucy and her doubts about her gift. Lucy reached her other hand up to stroke Salamander's soft muzzle. He snickered in approval and pushed his muzzle harder into her hands. "Let's get you into a stall and get you cleaned up, okay?" Lucy asked. One of her hands grasping the halter, Lucy turned Salamander around and began leading him back down the drive to Six. The grooms and hands all stepped to the side and made way for the two. Lucy was making an assessment of Salamander. _'Let's see, he's healthy, young, definitely professional track material. Excellent reflexes, based on the way he stopped before me. He seems to experience rapid mood swings. Behaviorally, I can feel that he's pretty even-tempered, but he has a negative…aura?...I would say that surrounds. I guess he's been feeling a little depressed lately, and I think it's affecting his racing. I've been following his progress, and the speed, stamina and quality of his running has been depreciating; it's not something that should be happening one at his age and two if he wants to continue racing. If anything, a horse of his nature should be increasing the quality, speed, and stamina of his running. I have to find the cause of his depression and either remove it or cure it. It shouldn't be too hard to fix him when I find the cause. He's a very spirited horse.' _Lucy finished her assessment on that thought and turned to smile at the young stallion. When she did, Salamander threw his head down and shoved her to the side.

Right into a pile of manure.

_'Perhaps he's a little _too _spirited.'_ Lucy thought as she emerged from the manure pile. To her complete embarrassment, every groom and hand nearby was laughing at her misfortune. Even Salamander was jumping in amusement and whinnying loudly as if he were laughing at her as well. Lucy stood in the manure pile and took off her belt. It was actually a whip she had braided into a belt that would come undone with a single tug. It had taken her years to develop the technique handed to her by her mother, but it was developed for times like this. Lucy was all for passive and kind treatment to horses, but with every rider-horse relationship, there was always a master. And it sure as hell wasn't the horse.

Lucy snapped the whip in the air with a resounding _crack_, effectively shutting up the grooms, hands, and Salamander. Everyone stared at the angry woman was stalking her way towards Salamander.

"Looks like the fairy's all riled up!" Bora said. "I've never seen you this way before, Lucy. It seems like you finally see things my way. Like I've told you before, horses are nothing but dumb creatures that need someone to tell them what to do. That's why you need to domi-" Bora shut his mouth as Lucy snapped her whip in his direction. The headband Bora was wearing fluttered to the ground; Lucy's whip had snapped it in half. Bora's eyes widened as he staggered away from the pissed off blonde who was still stalking Salamander.

"Leave me alone Bora. I don't have the time nor the patience to deal with idiots like you right now." Lucy spoke coldly, giving a window as to how upset she was, as she followed Salamander's retreating steps. He knew he had done something very wrong, and he knew he was about to pay for it. Lucy was currently herding him into a corral where she would make him run. And run. And run. Then, she would run him some more. The damned stallion would learn to _never_ repeat his mistake again.

* * *

It was over two and a half hours after the whole incident. Lucy had just finished bedding Salamander down, the exhausted colt having just enough energy to comply with what he was told to do. Lucy had spent two hours running Salamander to a point of utter exhaustion, and had kept him at a sprint the entire time, whipping him if he slowed down even a fraction. By the time she finally let him stop, the stallion had his head down panting hard and was sweating bullets. She walked up to him and began to murmur a lecture to him on how he should behave. Lucy knew Salamander heard everything because his ears were swiveled towards her the entire time. When Lucy finished, she led him inside the stable and cleaned him up. She didn't give him any food or water for the time being; she would give both to him closer to midnight when he would actually have an appetite. By then, the time was five minutes untill six o'clock, so Lucy said goodbye to the horse then trudged up the steps to her loft. She lived on the second floor of Six, above all the horses she cared deeply for. She didn't mind however. It wasn't like she was lacking space up there.

Stable Six was the only two-story stable on the entire track. Other than that, it was built like every other stable there. Twenty stalls on either side of the barn, each being twelve feet by twelve feet, with two twelve by twenty rooms finishing the two rows of stalls, one on each side. One room was a tack room, the other was the stable office. The stables all had a nice twenty foot cement pathway straight down the center. Each barn's total dimensions were 260 feet long, 34 feet wide, and twelve feet tall, Six having the same dimensions except the height was doubled, twelve feet for the stables and twelve feet for Lucy's loft. Lucy had a spacious apartment almost to herself. She shared her apartment only with her snow-white purebred border collie, Plue. She had found Plue as a pup and a stray, so she brought him home. The two had been inseparable ever since. Plue would often work beside her; he would herd horses, play with them, run simple errands for her or just simply keep her company. Everything in Lucy's loft was spacious and huge, not because she particularly liked it that way, but just because everything could be.

A large, open kitchen with huge bay windows facing east dominated one end of the loft. An extravagant kitchen bar separated the kitchen from the rest of the loft. A dining room table was placed in the niche between the apartment door and the kitchen. At the other end of the loft was the tremendous master bedroom containing the luxurious, spa-like master bathroom that had a shower, a Jacuzzi bathtub, a long bathroom counter with an extravagant sink and a private toilet area. The master bedroom itself had an enormous walk-in closet fit for a queen, a massive king size bed, two vanity wardrobes and a large vanity mirror. Along the south wall, proceeding from the master bedroom to the kitchen was a guest bedroom and a full guest bathroom with all the amenities of the master bath- and bedroom, just on a smaller scale. The remaining space in the apartment was just a giant entertainment lounge. A pool table and dart board were placed in the remaining space between the guest bathroom and kitchen. Love seats, lounge chairs, and two sectionals served as comfortable seats, while barstools were placed under the kitchen bar. There was a 60 inch flat-screen TV positioned on a wooden TV stand on the north wall. On the TV stand there was every popular gaming system and an elaborate sound system. Huge shelves were placed on either side of the TV, one containing video games and the other containing DVDs. In total, the apartment took up around 1500 square feet, more or less.

About 3000 square feet of the loft outside of Lucy's apartment was a massive training area. Mats covered the floor and walls of the gigantic space, there were changing rooms and private showers for guests, as well as training equipment for jockeys, weights, treadmills, and spare bedrooms for hands, grooms, and any veterinarians who needed to stay on grounds for the night. Finally, the rest of the space was an enormous dry food barn that housed all the dry foods for the entire track such as bran, grains, pellets, oats, and horse treats. Apples and carrots were kept in barrels in the stables. The dry foods barn also housed all the grooming materials that needed to be replaced all the time, such as combs, brushes, picks, soaps, conditioners, polish and many other things. If it was a food or grooming related item one needed, it was sure to be found in the barn. Somewhere.

Lucy unlocked her apartment door, dumped her boots on the mat by the kitchen, and then proceeded to walk across her apartment (extremely grateful for her hardwood floors) to her bedroom for a long-ass shower. Or three. Or seven. However many it took for her to feel clean and NOT smell like manure. Lucy stripped her clothing in her bathroom after turning on her shower, vowing to burn the ruined items at a later point in time. Lucy sighed as she realized her favorite pair of work jeans were now unusable.

Before she hopped in, Lucy turned on her 'mellow jams' playlist. It was a collection of songs that never failed to relax her no matter how hard the days at work. "Counting Stars" by One Republic began playing while Lucy stepped under the hot water. Using over half of a new bottle of her favorite soap, Lucy scrubbed herself until her skin was pink and raw. Then she ended up using the rest of her shampoo and conditioner getting all of the poop out of her golden locks. Once finished, she took her time applying a sweet-smelling lotion all over her body and brushing her hair. She put on her green sheer nightgown and favorite robe.

Lucy finally emerged from her bedroom as she walked towards the kitchen to prepare dinner, swinging her hips to "Suga Suga" by Baby Bash. One of her closest friends was coming over for dinner because they hadn't seen each other in over a week, due to him being away on a business trip in Europe. He would be over soon, as Lucy had taken up extra time in the shower. She settled on a simple dish of chicken alfredo with garlic bread, and grapes and cubed cheese as an appetizer. Lucy opened her fridge and cupboards and pantry to gather all of the ingredients and materials necessary for the meal. She rinsed the grapes and put them into a small bowl. Then she cubed the Colby-jack and cheddar cheese on a cutting board, grabbed a platter and placed the cheese on one half, the bowl of grapes going on the other half. She placed the platter on the dining room table and began to prepare the chicken alfredo.

As the water in a pot on Lucy's stove began to boil and "Between the Raindrops" by Lifehouse began to play, there was a knock on Lucy's door. She ran over, opened the door, and upon seeing the person standing there, exclaimed, "You made it!"

The man at the door replied, "Of course. I would do anything to see my princess."

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter isn't all that interesting, but I think it's important for me to establish the setting before I dive in too much. Don't worry though, the story will pick up after this chapter.**


	3. Dinner

Lucy squealed as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck. "Loke! I'm so glad you're back! But why are you late?" Lucy questioned.

"I was caught up in a meeting with an owner. You know, the usual stuff: he wants to know what his horse is going to be fed, how and with what his horse will be groomed, exercise schedule, training opportunities, and, of course, the racing schedule." Loke explained. "I was also bringing this guy home."

Two soft barks brought Lucy's attention down towards the ground. Plue stood there, tail wagging and a happy expression on his face.

"Plue!" Lucy crouched down and scratched the dog behind the ears. "I was wondering why you weren't home. You've been chasing after Canis again haven't you?"

"Canis?" Loke asked.

"Canis." Lucy replied. "She's the Border collie your brother, Junior, got while you were away. She really is a gorgeous dog. When you see her you'll understand Plue's crush." Lucy took a deep breath. "Well, I've kept you in the hallway long enough. Come in, make yourself at home. Oh, are you going to spend the night here or go to your home?" Plue waltzed over to his bed when Lucy stepped aside and promptly fell asleep.

"Could I spend the night here please? I'm so travel weary and the meeting took up the rest of my energy." Loke pleaded as he too, entered the apartment.

"Of course, Loke. My apartment is practically your second home. No, scratch that, it's your safe haven, womanizer." Lucy spat the last part at him while she walked over to the stove to pour in the noodles.

"It's not my fault all the ladies want me." Loke smirked. Lucy scoffed. Loke walked across the threshold to his room to drop his stuff off. When he came back out, he'd changed out of his travel suit into a grey cotton t-shirt and grey and white striped pajama pants. In his hand he held a bottle of white Zinfandel. Lucy looked up from the boiling pot, saw the wine as Loke continued to walk towards the bar, and smiled gratefully at him. Lucy eyed the bottle as she said, "You have no idea how badly I need that right now."

"Oh I beg to differ Ms. Heartfilia. I'm pretty sure I have some idea of how bad your day was. You've had your mellow jams playing for a while now; you smell like your favorite soap and lotion, hell, you aren't even wearing any actual clothes. You're just wearing your nightgown and favorite Zodiac robe. Give me some credit Lucy, I've only been one of your best friends for, geez, five years now? Just get me a glass and you can hog the rest of the damn bottle." Loke sat down in a bar stool and reached for the bottle opener Lucy just set out. She laughed as she complied to his request, then she walked to her living room to turn off her music. By the time she walked back to the kitchen Loke had the bottle open and was in the process of pouring himself a glass. When finished, Lucy reached over and snatched the bottle from his grasp.

"Greedy." Loke muttered. Lucy snickered before taking a long swig. She set the bottle down and decided to check on the noodles. She plucked one out of the pot with the help of her ladle and threw the noodle at her cupboards. Upon seeing the noodle sticking to the cupboard, she peeled it off and dropped it back into the pot while grabbing a strainer and placing it in her sink. Lucy then strained the noodles and poured them back into the pot. Placing the pot on a cool burner, Lucy looked for the sauce jar. Realizing that she'd forgotten it in her earlier preparations, she walked to her pantry and along the way noticed Loke had nearly finished the grapes and cheese.

"Hungry are we?" Lucy asked.

"Famished," was Loke's response.

"Well, good." Lucy countered. "I've made plenty enough for seconds, plus I have strawberry ice cream in the freezer for dessert."

It was right about then that Loke noticed something.

"Uhh, Lucy? Can I ask you something?"

Lucy paused in her struggle of opening the jar lid. "Ask away."

"What are we having for dinner again?"

"Oh." Lucy gave a triumphant _ha_ when she popped the lid off. "Chicken alfredo."

Loke sighed. "Right. I think you've forgotten something."

"Huh? What did I forget?"

"The chicken."

Lucy froze with the jar in one hand and the lid in the other as she looked at the stove, then the countertop. On the countertop sat the chicken strips with the pan right beside. Lucy slammed the lid down on the counter setting the jar next to it as the frustrations from her day caught up to her. She hid her face in her hands as she started sniffling. "Oh Loke, I've had the most awful day. I can't seem to get anything done right today." Lucy's sniffles became quiet sobs.

Loke came around from behind the bar and enveloped Lucy in a hug. He rocked he side to side as she cried her frustrations out. Finally Lucy calmed down. Loke pulled back a bit and looked at her teary face.

"How about I finish up dinner and you can relax with your bottle and tell me about your day?" Loke suggested. Lucy merely nodded her head and uttered a soft "Ok" before picking up her wine bottle and taking Loke's former seat at the kitchen bar. In return, Loke took up Lucy's kitchen responsibilities and began to fry the chicken strips.

"So?" Loke began. "Tell me about it."

Lucy gave a resigned sigh as she recounted her day's events to him. She told him about having dry cereal for breakfast because she'd forgotten to go grocery shopping; she told him about lunch and how a meatball from her meatball sandwich dropped in her new white shirt; she told him about how Bora had "accidentally" spilled his drink on said shirt as he walked by her, and about how she did it to herself right after. She told Loke about Bora overhearing Lucy explain her gift to the new bookkeeper at Six, and how he teased her endlessly about it everyday now. Finally she told Loke about Salamander, his treatment from the other grooms, how he shoved her into a manure pile and how she was completely and utterly embarrassed in front of all her coworkers. Lucy failed to see the glint of recognition in Loke's eyes at the stallion's name when she was speaking.

Loke listened patiently as any gentleman and best friend would. Once Lucy completed her tale, he regaled her with his own. He'd had to wake up early in order to make his 2:30 am flight, which was awful by the way because there were no pretty flight attendants to flirt with plus he was in the middle seat. (Could he have taken his family's private jet? Yes, but it was already half-way around the world being used. Loke just took the next available flight home.) When he was going through customs he was randomly selected twice, causing to spend two hours there. He hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so he went to a mall deli in the airport and spent nearly 15 jewels on a six-inch sub and a bottle of water. Then he waited out the rest of his five hour layover for his connecting flight. When placed on the plane, his flight was delayed because the plane was experiencing electrical problems. First he waited thirty minutes for maintenance to run tests, then forty-five minutes for a new battery to be brought in, then thirty more minutes for more tests to be run. Finally…..the captain announced that the plane was not flyable. He was put on a different plane after waiting another two hours, but that plane couldn't take off because the door wouldn't shut right. After being booted of the second plane, he was finally placed in a flyable plane and was finally on his way home. Once on the ground again, he went straight from the airport to the track for his meeting, then from the meeting to Lucy's.

By the time Loke finished his tale the chicken was appropriately fried and Loke was giving them both generous helpings. The two dug in and ate in silence. When they were done, the two brought the dishes to the sink. Loke washed while Lucy dried and put the dishes away. Both exhausted from their days, Lucy and Loke bid each other goodnight and went to get some rest for the new day.


End file.
